-Rediff.com    The last six to seven years of the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar has not seen any significant increase in Maoist violence, which nevertheless continues to take a toll of lives and government property. According to figures compiled by the state police headquarters, in 2008, the Maoists destroyed three government buildings, blasted railway tracks at six places, besides two private buildings, torched five JCB machines used in road construction and 12...

Former chief minister of Bihar Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday claimed that all the allegations leveled against him in the Rs 900-crore fodder scam were biased and the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) had acted against him under political pressure to ruin his career.  Lalu was replying to questions of special CBI judge PK Singh in the fodder scam case (RC 20/96) related to fraudulent withdrawal of more than Rs 37...

-Greater Kashmir JAMmu and Kashmir RTI Movement has started a membership drive across the State for awareness and sensitization of public about matters related to governance, corruption and other allied issues by making rigorous use of the Right to Information Act (RTI).   The Convener of J&K RTI Movement Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat in a statement said the group plans to register 30,000 members across the State this year.  “The aim of this membership...

Transparency is okay, but what about accountability!   With each passing day, the most talked and obviously powerful civil right, i.e. Right to Information Act is gaining momentum in JAMmu and Kashmir State and helping the citizens to get the information from the government and administration. In this process of obtaining information many RTI users have been able to unearth major scams in the state. Now, the officers, the Public Information Officers...

Iqbal Masud, the civil servant and critic, supported the ban on The Satanic Verses in 1989. His reason was simple: if the book remained on sale in India, Muslims would march in protest, policemen would fire upon them, some of them would die, and no book, said Masud, was worth the life of a single protester. There were, he allowed, legitimate arguments to be made about incitement, about mobs marching against...